James McAuliffe has won the race for town treasurer. He will replace Kevin Sorgi who has held the position for the last 28 years.  Charlie McCarthy was gracious in defeat saying, “It’s not the end of the world. [and] It’s about the journey not the end.” He congratulated both Ms. Lorden and Mr. McAuliffe on their campaigns. Ms. Lorden was equally gracious in acknowledging McAullife. “He ran an amazing campaign.”

Appearing at Town Hall after the results came in Mr McAuliffe said he was “flabbergasted, but thrilled.” He ran a good campaign and mobilized his supporters. The town turnout overall was 22.8%.  Quite a bit below what was predeicted. Mr. Mullen, the Town Clerk, had estimated a turnout of over 30%. Precinct 7 had the best turnout with 29.1% and Precinct had the poorest turnout, only 11.8%.

Congratulations Mr. McAuliffe!

The town web site has the complete voting results for all offices by precinct. You can find it here.

Steve Affanato prevailed against McCarthy for Park Commissioner 2451vs 1176.

In the Assessor race, Grunning held onto his seat against Todd Greenwood who after results were in said, “I started using my bike. . .” because his legs got so tired.

Andrea Gorden, an incumbent, was re-elected library trustee. She is joined by newcomers Barbara Mason  and Brendan McLaughlin.

Lastly, Lee Carey edged out Richard Casey for the Housing Authority

Congratulations to all!

The town web site has the complete voting results for all offices including town meeting members by precinct. You can find it here.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108

April 27, 2009

What is swine influenza?
Swine influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by a type of influenza virus. Outbreaks of
swine flu happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do
happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in people who are around pigs but it’s possible for
swine flu viruses to spread from one person to another. In the United States there were 12 cases of swine flu in
people from 2006 through 2008. In March and April 2009 there have been many more cases of swine flu than
usual in both Mexico and the U.S. and the infections have spread from one person to another.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in people?
Swine flu causes symptoms very similar to seasonal (or human) flu. The most common symptoms of swine flu,
like seasonal flu, are fever, cough, and sore throat and can include body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
Some people also have diarrhea and vomiting. There have been some people with swine flu who have been
sicker and have even died.

Is swine flu treatable in people?
People sick with any type of flu should make sure to drink enough fluids, get plenty of rest, eat healthy foods,
wash hands frequently and stay home to avoid spreading the flu to other people. The kinds of drugs used to treat
seasonal flu, called antivirals, can also be used to treat swine flu. There have been a few influenza viruses,
including the most recent swine flu, that are resistant to some, but not all, of these drugs. Healthcare providers
may recommend that people who are sick or appear to be sick with swine flu receive an antiviral medication.

How would I know if I have swine flu?
If you have symptoms of influenza as described above, and especially if you have recently traveled to an area
where there have been human cases of swine flu, contact your healthcare provider who will decide what type of
testing and treatment is right for you. To diagnose any kind of flu virus, a swab of the inside of your nose needs
to be collected by a doctor. Identification of a swine flu virus requires special laboratory testing.
If you think you might have swine flu and you need to see your health care provider, you should call ahead and
let them know you might have the flu. That way, precautions can be taken to avoid the spread of flu to others.

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The Patriot Ledger reported that the Milton Board of Selectmen unanimously voted John Shields chairman of the board. He will take over from Kathy Fagan. (read the full story here.)

The story also mentioned that the board was looking at a permitting process for movie and television production companies. This may stem from inquiries recently received from a production outfit that wanted to use Milton locations in their filming of “The Company Men.” Oh boy, movies!

“The Company” is a film about three men dealing with corporate downsizing. You can find some information about the film at the IMDB site here.

It’s election day here in Milton. It is time to exercise your civic responsibility. There are several offices up for grabs, chief among them Town Treasurer and Collector. There are also elections for Park Commissioner, Assessor, the Housing Authority and Library Trustees.

Jim Mullen, Town Clerk, is estimating an average turnout of around 35% according to the Milton Times.

You can find links to information about the candidates including summaries, reruns of debates and interviews on our Election 2009 Candidate round up HERE.

Precincts 1 and 11: Tucker School, 181 Blue Hills Parkway.
Precinct 2: St. Mary of the Hills School, 250 Brook Road.
Precinct 3: Glover School, 255 Canton Ave.
Precinct 4: Milton Senior Center, 10 Walnut St.
Precincts 5 and 9: Copeland Field House, Milton High School, 25 Gile Road.
Precincts 6 and 8: Cunningham School gym, 44 Edge Hill Road.
Precincts 7 and 10: Cunningham Park Community Center, 75 Edge Hill Road.

View Milton Polling Places in a larger map

• On Wednesday, April 29, Juniors in Group 11B will meet for their final session of group guidance and on Thursday, April 30, Juniors in Group 11C will meet for their final session.
• On Thursday, MHS will host a College Mini-Fair for Juniors from 8:45 to 9:18 in the Field House. We are expecting sixty college representatives. The list is available on the Guidance page on Edline and in the guidance office. Thursday is a B Block Day and students must obtain a pass in guidance and have it signed by their B period teacher. Only juniors with signed passes will be admitted to the mini fair.
• Poetry Club rehearsals will be in 211 all week. All performers must attend.
• Fashion Show meetings today, Wednesday and Thursday. See Deidre-Ann or Mr. Costa if you cannot make it. If you should choose to miss one of these days, your name will be removed from the roster.
• Anyone who wants to help backstage during the Fashion Show on May 9, please attend the meeting today after school in Mr. Costa’s room.

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This evenings school committee meeting was at best a difficult one.

There were a number of items under discussion. First, during Citizens Speak two of the co-chairs of Invest in Milton took the podium to advocate for an override. Julio Valera and Mary Ann Rule both spoke in support of the override to be voted on June 8th. The actual amount of that override will be determined at Town Meeting scheduled for May 4th and 5th (it could run over). The school administration has refined the candidate for school business administrator to two candidates: Samuel Rippen, Director of Finance for the Winchester Public Schools and Matthew Gilles (sp?) of the Carver school system. These two candidates were selected from over 25 applications, 8 of whom were interviewed. Committee Mary Kelly commended the administration on a “a great process and a model that should be continued.”

Next was a discussion on the need to open a job req for the principleship at the Tucker School. This is in light of the letter from the MSBA. Given that letter, the consensus is that school closings are not an option and this open position at Tucker needs to be posted. Chairman Lovely raised the possibility of Cunningham and Collicott sharing a principle while acknowledging it was a “lousy deal.”

By unanimous vote the school committee elected to freeze all non-union salaries in excess of $50K and restrict raises to non-union salaries less than $50K to 1%. Committee member Lynda Lee Sheridan stated it was a “painful decision to make.” Lovely emphasized that the motion would be in force independent of whether or not an override passed.

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A weekly recap of key events and items of interest to the Milton community:

School woes

Every town department in every town in Massachusetts is being rocked by the current national financial crisis; but few are laboring under the complex issues as the Milton School Committee. The schools financial woes became much more complicated last week when the Ms. Craven, Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority sent a letter informing the town that they would seek to recoup the funding provided to build the schools if Milton elected to close one as a means of cutting costs to meet budget constraints. The issue continued to receive coverage this week. You can view a post linking to Patriot Ledger coverage here and to Globe coverage here.

Trash talk

The Board of Selectmen heard a proposal  to modify trash collection here in town. According to the plan, custom trash bags would replace the current sticker system. They would come in two sizes; a 32 gallon size for $3.00 and a smaller 15 gallon size at a reduced fee. Residents would still have the option of obtaining an annual permit for trash barrels. The primary motivation behind the switch is not to generate revenue but to reduce trash. John Thompson, Assistant Town Engineer, said other towns that had implemented the system saw decreases of up to 20%.

A church quietly leaves town

Temple Shalom is not the only house of worship with a declining congregation. As reported in this week’s Milton Times, the First Baptist Church on Edge Hill Road after almost 125 years is closing. The congregation’s 50 members will merge with the First Baptist Church of Norwood.

Pastor Norman Bronson is preparing the property for sale. It is priced at $650,000. Proceeds from the sale will go towards charitable initiatives and strengthening  the success of the new church in Norwood. Pastor Bronson said a business may go in or the church might be converted to condominiums depending on zoning regulations and neighborhood input.

• On Wednesday, April 29, Juniors in Group 11B will meet for their final session of group guidance and on Thursday, April 30, Juniors in Group 11C will meet for their final session.
• Poetry Club rehearsals will be in 211 all week. All performers must attend.
• GSA members will be selling Skittles this week to support the Day of Silence. Please pay $1 to Nancy Killoran, Bryan Doherty, Ariel Bounas, Rachel Lipton or Betsy Meyer.
• The Michael Devin Scholarship has just been posted. Please pick up a copy in guidance. A very short essay is required. Deadline: May 1.
• Seniors: Please remember the deadlines for the following scholarship: Fallon Ambulance EMT Training Scholarship, which is a wonderful opportunity for students entering the health field or who wish to become emergency service personnel (police. fire, etc.,) April 30.

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from The Boston Globe